Gold | Park Sunghoon

8

But Jangmi wasn't buying it.

She nodded again before her coach told her to go home and rest. Walking to her bag, she saw Aera leaning on the wall as she seemed to be scrolling through one of her social media accounts. The other girl was quick to notice a heavy change in the Jangmi's aura. "Did something happen?" she asked. 

Jangmi let a small sigh slip from her mouth and picked her head up. "None!" She replied a little too enthusiastically. "Should we change?"

The other girl could sense Jangmi trying to change the topic, but she wasn't giving up. "Sure," her reply had an underlying tone to it; something Jangmi didn't pay much attention to. They picked up their bags and headed for the restroom. It was their usual routine after training. They finished changing their shirts and wiping their sweat, then fixed their hair in front of the mirror.

"I don't mean to pry, but something is definitely wrong," Aera said as she pointed to her friend. Jangmi knew that her friend meant well, but she didn't want to come off as boastful. She tried to keep it to herself and shook her head quickly. "Nothing's wrong. Don't worry."

"Something's obviously bothering you; and you know what they say—"

"Trust is important in cheerleading," Jangmi interrupted her friend. She debated in confiding in her friend because she was scared to be seen as boastful; but Aera was right: communication was a key factor in the sport. If they didn't communicate, there would be no trust. And trust was the basis of everything in cheerleading.

Jangmi sighed as she turned to face Aera. "I know," she replied, returning her comb in her bag. She and her friend picked up their bags and walked to the outside the gym.

"Coach just told me to focus more on my skills so that it won't degrade in terms of technique," Jangmi opened up to Aera. Her friend shrugged her shoulders before pushing the glass door open for the both of them. "Well that's easy because you're Park Jangmi: the best athlete this gym has ever seen!" She said enthusiastically, trying to cheer her up. 

"Yeah, I guess."

As they got down the concrete steps, they saw a male figure leaning on the nearest lamppost to the gym. Jangmi was about to step closer to the silhouette when Aera tapped on her shoulder to signal that she was leaving for the parking lot. "Remember, you got this!" She put her fist up to cheer Jangmi on again before leaving. 

When Jangmi was left alone, she continued to look at the figure and started to realize its familiarity. 

"Sunoo?"

The boy jumped from the lamppost and waved at his best friend. "Hello!" He placed his cellphone in his pocket and walked closer to her. "I thought we were meeting at my house?" She questioned.

Jangmi was confused with the set-up. Her and Sunoo had a chemistry partner homework to finish that night, but she didn't expect to see him outside the gym waiting for her. "I told your brother that I would walk home with you, especially since I'm not staying for too long," he told her and smiled. The girl nodded and smiled back at him, interlocking her arms with his as they started to walk home.

"So, I was thinking that since it's we're both done with the actual chemical bonding part, we could split the three essay questions..."

Jangmi found herself distancing from their conversation, Sunoo's voice merely becoming background noise.. She didn't mean to tune her best friend out, but she couldn't help but think about everything else going on in her life: school, cheerleading—the pressure she was receiving from both aspects.

"Jangmi?" Sunoo called, his tone clearly annoyed at the girl. "Are you even paying attention to what I'm saying?" The boy had been talking for a while, and he was annoyed that Jangmi had zoned out. She blinked twice in realization and turned to face her best friend.